1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fruit harvester and more particularly to a machine for picking fruit from a tree by a plurality of horizontally and vertically oscillating rod members that dislodge the fruit from the tree with the harvested fruit deposited onto a conveyor and transported to a storage container on the machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,561,205 entitled, "Fruit Harvester" and 3,713,282 "Harvesting Apparatus" disclose a picking unit that is connected by a hydraulically controlled boom to a conventional tractor or the like. The picking unit includes a plurality of tree penetrating rods that extend horizontally from a main frame and are positioned in spaced vertical relationship thereon. The rods are reciprocated horizontally outwardly away from each other and inwardly toward each other with the adjacent rows of rods moving in opposite directions. In this manner, the fruit stems are severed and the picked fruit falls upon a gathering tray mounted below the picking unit. The picked fruit is directed therefrom to a central discharge tube through which the fruit is moved to a loading point.
The actual picking of the fruit is accomplished by the severing of the fruit stems by the synchronized movement of the rods. Thus, the fruit stems must be severed in order to dislodge the fruit from the limbs; and accordingly, the fruit not severed from the limbs remains on the tree. There is need for a mobile fruit harvesting machine that harvests fruit from a tree at a high rate of speed in which substantially all of the fruit is removed from the tree without damaging the tree and the picked fruit.